The Institute of Viral and Liver Disease

At Inserm UMR_S1110, Institute of Viral and Liver Disease, we are studying the hepatitis C virus (HCV), the hepatitis B virus (HBV), the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), all with major repercussions on public health worldwide. Major unmet medical needs include the related complications of chronic infection, the absent/limited strategies to prevent/treat advanced liver disease and liver cancer, the limitations of current treatments against HBV-induced chronic hepatitis and the lack of vaccines for prevention of HIV and HCV infection. We are also interested in studying virus-host interactions of emerging viruses such as Dengue virus and Zika virus.

Using innovative approaches we are dissecting the molecular mechanisms underlying virus-host interactions including early stages of viral infection, genome replication and the assembly of viral particles. Furthermore, were are uncovering cell circuits that drive and maintain HCV/HBV infection and cause liver disease and cancer. Interactions of viruses with the immune system are also under investigation for vaccine development. In a joint program with the University of Strasbourg and the Strasbourg University Hospitals, we achieve unique synergies allowing ultimately the identification of novel targets for preventive and therapeutic strategies against viral infection and liver disease including liver cancer.

International Contracts
European Union, Fond Européen de Développement Régional (FEDER), Interreg IV Rhin Supérieur (Hepato-Regio-Net), European Research Council, Infect-ERA, Horizon 2020, Foundation Else-Kröner-Fresenius, German Liver Foundation, Inserm EAL University of Freibourg, National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health